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Thursday, March 10, 2016

Beyonce reminds us of history in Super Bowl 50 halftime show

Alexandra Buchler
Staff Writer

Super Bowl 50 was celebrated on Feb. 7 and caught the attention of over 111.9 million viewers, according to Hollywood Reporter. Between Peyton Manning’s not so commendable performance, and the Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers by 14 points, this was surely an exciting game.

Every Super Bowl, families settle in and enjoy the game, laugh at the commercials (which may just be the best part) and watch the halftime show. For the past 50 Super bowls there has been an immense amount of pressure placed on the halftime performers, so was Coldplay and Bruno Mars side supporting act, Beyonce, able to pull it off or was her performance not as good as everyone expected?

According to a multitude of websites including Fox News, NYTimes, Hollywood Life, NYDailyNews and Washington Post, Beyonce's performance was a commemoration to The Black Panthers, with Beyonce herself and her dancers being dressed like them. The Black Panthers were a group of people who fought to establish equal rights for minorities. Beyonce's outfit was identical to Michael Jackson's Super Bowl performance outfit in 1993, and her dancers were dressed as modern day Black Panthers. The Black Panthers actually reached out to Beyonce and a former member, William Johnson claimed, “As an original member of the Black Panther Party I thank Beyonce for her courage to make a statement on National TV. I am sure she understood the backlash that would follow her performance @ the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl, so on behalf of The National Alumni Association of the Black Panther Party we thank you & salute you.”

Beyonce did not only rock the halftime performance, but she made a political statement about African American rights in America. However, according to Buzzfeed.com, 68% of people who watched the Superbowl claimed that the halftime show was not as spectacular as they expected. Even though Beyonce has over 60 million followers on Instagram, was her Super Bowl performance a disappointment or a powerful statement for America?